Letters to the Editor Tuesday

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Dr. Robert Johnson, a candidate in the upcoming republican runoff, has staked out several positions: outrage over the treatment of veterans, support of tort reform, champion of free enterprise, elimination of government restrictions and inspiration from our Founding fathers.

By his own admission Dr. Johnson has worked at several VA hospitals. What did he do over that 20-year span to raise awareness or improve the quality of care? Absolutely nothing!

Contrast that inactivity, and his pro-business rhetoric, against his actions in the wrongful termination lawsuit his wife filed against Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii in 2001. Though Dr. Johnson fought to restrict injured patients from bringing lawsuits and to limit malpractice judgments, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that his lawsuit sought unspecified damages. The Honolulu Star Bulletin further reported that his wife was fired, in part, because she petitioned the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to maintain stricter regulatory control of hospital operations – operations that would financially benefit anesthesiologists, which is her specialty.

Court records show that the suit was unfounded and was dismissed with prejudice. While it is true that his wife filed the suit, one must ask that as the head of a Christian household would his wife take legal action without his consent.

History shows that Dr. Johnson fights to limit frivolous lawsuits – unless he files them; he argues that private business should operate freely – unless they fire his wife; he extols less government regulation – unless regulation enriches his pocketbook; and he decries veteran services – unless he’s part of the system.

My vote is for Buddy Carter.

THOMAS MCKEON

Richmond Hill

Obama’s responsible for border crisis

According to Richard Mascio in his July 11 Letter to the Editor, violence in Central America caused the recent and ongoing flow of immigrants to the southwestern states. If this were true, residents of Chicago would be fleeing south in droves.

The movement to our borders started after Barack Obama signed an executive order guaranteeing asylum to “dreamers.” If Obama seems surprised by this, he shouldn’t be. The federal government advertised for a contractor to relocate 65,000 unescorted juveniles on FedBizOpps.gov back in January. This is easily verified.

The act George Bush signed into law was meant to prevent child sexual trafficking. It protects children picked up inside, not turned back at the border.

Barack Obama intends to flood the U.S. with future voters for his party, so, according to the governor of Texas, the Border Patrol was pulled back 40 miles north of the border, ensuring that by the time Border Patrol saw these people, they were on U.S. soil and could not be turned back or quickly returned.

The Republican-controlled house may not address “immigration reform” (amnesty) this year, but they were not elected to cater to Mr. Obama’s whims.

Mr. Obama’s perfect mix of arrogance and incompetence has once again put this country in a mess we don’t deserve. When the bill comes due for this silliness, I hope his apologists will at least recognize the damage he has caused.

MARK LANIER

Tybee Island

Carter was there to help when needed

We write today as three individuals who have extensive experience seeking help from a locally elected official who has overwhelmed us with his responsiveness and effectiveness.

As the founder, former executive director and chairman of the board of a school that serves children with special needs, we’ve experienced the challenges of running a non-profit during difficult economic times. Because many of these issues involved our state contract and funding, we reached out to Sen. Carter for help.

Our calls were often desperate, and he was always there for us.

Sen. Carter, with the help and support of State Rep. Ron Stephens and former senator Eric Johnson, came to our rescue multiple times.

It is exceedingly difficult to deal with government bureaucracy while simultaneously trying to provide care for children with special needs. During those difficult times Sen. Carter was always responsive and never rested until he had delivered the results we needed.

As a result, the school is still open today for the many families in our community who rely on us, and we are thriving in our new location.

We, as individuals, support Buddy Carter in his effort to win election to Congress because we know him to be a man with a generous heart and with the resolve necessary to be successful in a challenging atmosphere like Washington, D.C. We hope that the rest of the community, including the surrounding Georgia counties, will join us in supporting his candidacy.

Your article in my opinion exaggerates what has happened and is happening. There have been a lot of NFL players in that lawsuit called out by their peers as well. They made the choice to play hurt. They made the choice knowing they had injuries to keep playing. They made the choice.

What you don’t say in your article is that America is getting soft. I played organized football from sixth grade through college. I had one concussion and a few minor injuries. But I made the choice.

Stop demonizing competition and the game itself. Soccer has head-injury issues as well. A ball that’s kicked and you use your head to deflect it can’t be good either. I was amazed how many times during the world boring cup to see players taken off the field on stretchers? I thought it was the “beautiful game”?

Should ice hockey be shut down as they have more head injuries than football? I await your article on soccer head injuries and ice hockey as well.

People who choose to play football know it’s violent, and that’s why most people watch instead of play.

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Why can’t someone just run for political office on their merit? If I was Buddy Carter I would write a letter to distance myself from you. First you question whether Dr. Johnson’s 20 years of service in VA hospitals “improved the quality of care.” Do you have a better record of helping veterans for 20 years? I am sure there are some of Dr. Johnson’s patients that might disagree with you. Then you attack his whistle blower wife that put her job on the line for something she must have believed in and to top that off you say his wife should have gotten his permission (“as the head of a Christian household would his wife take legal action without his consent”) before she did anything. Not bad for one little letter, attack a Doctor for working for veterans, attack his wife for trying to improve health care conditions and for not getting her husband’s permission. Buddy Carter do you agree with all of this?

Good try, “The movement to our borders started after Barack Obama signed an executive order guaranteeing asylum to “dreamers.” So is it the law Bush signed in 2008 that gives someone that is in our country legal rights. It may surprise you but once some sets foot on American soil that law applies, just like when people from Cuba or Haiti had if they were caught in a boat they could be sent back, but once they were on the shore things changed. I think some of the people south of us know our immigration laws better than most in Washington. They realized that once you were in our country you were in our court system, and everyone knows how slow that is. The ‘Dream Act” said that a kid that had grown up in our country and had done everything right would not be deported because it had taken our system years and years to address their status.

So is the law that says just step foot on American soil and you will be put into a system that lasts years or the one that says you must have spent years in our system and has learned our language (some that is the only language they know), and attending and doing well in our schools. Which one is the magnet? If you don’t like Obama it’s his fault.

Immigration Reform is not just one of our Presidents “whims.” The majority of Americans, as well as the US Senate want Immigration reform. Of course the majority of Americans wanted some gun laws that would control assault rifles and high capacity clips, but big business won on that one.

The wet-foot, dry-foot law only applies to Cubans. Once they reach land they are allowed to stay and become citizens in one year.
Wet-Foot, Dry-Foot Policy for Cuban Migrants
immigration.about.com › ... › Immigration Law and Policy
by Dan Moffett - The United States gives migrants from Cuba special treatment that no other group of refugees or immigrants receives. It begins with the so-called “wet-foot, ...

Whatever one's position on football's and hockey's head injury investigations may be, it is clear that they are not being discussed because America is 'getting soft'. Rather, they are being discussed because medical researchers and practitioners know a great deal more about concussions and head injuries than they did in the not so distant past.